Snowed In? Oh Well, There's Always Facebook.

I just got a notice that my 8:50pm flight to Louisville has been delayed until 11:30pm. Buuuuuuuuuuut, I should still get there by 8pm, so that I can get a comfy seat for my nearly three hour wait. (And that's assuming that my plane actually takes off.)

I should be annoyed by this, but I'm really not. I have a good book to take with me ("American Gods" by Neil Gaiman) and the final two Alan Moore, Swamp Thing graphic novels. And a full ipod of music, Venture Brothers episodes and podcasts to keep me entertained. If all else fails, I can lean up against a wall somewhere and catch some z's, at least until the snoring alerts security and they send someone see what the deafening racket is.

I'm fine with the delay. The great big fat snowflakes that are covering my city in a big, white blanket right now doesn't mean to do me any harm. It just is. Snow just snows. There's not too much to be said beyond that.

And there are worst places to be, than busily occupied in an American airport. Like, work, for example. Being at work would be worse. Being buried alive under an avalanche would be worse. Pompei, looking up at an erupting Vesuvius would be worse. Or pushing through a high-rise plate glass window to prove to an intern how strong it is, would be worse. All things considered, I don't mind the airport. I don't mind the delay.

The holiday has officially begun, when I walk out this door. This is cause to celebrate.

If I owned a laptop, I could spend my idle time, farting around on Teh Facebook. Of which I am now a member. After a friend (Brandy) talked to me about it today, I decided to join the damned thing. She said, "You'll see so many people on there that you haven't seen in a while" and I do. I think I have 80+ friends right now, with more trickling in from the 300 contacts in my email contacts list. People pop up and write a funny message on my "wall" and then disappear again. My friends are a strange mix of Chicago Friends and High School Friends and College Friends. Three distinctive phases of my life, blending together in some sort of surreal, chronologically-dissonent, massive cocktail party. The girl that I used to drool over in high school is "friends" with me, right next to the girl that I drool over, these days. Former teachers. Former enemies. Former Lovers. Current friends. All mashed together in a hodge-podge of faces and cryptic messages "Remember me from high school? We didn't really talk much. But I remember you." As I said, it's strange to be a participant in this whole, robust online community. There are all new rules of engagement to learn, new mistakes to make (What do you MEAN that message I wrote on your Wall was publicly posted?!?) new levels of non-communication to negotiate.

It would've made a great time waster, while at the airport. And a good ending to a day that started out weird. This morning, while riding the bus to work, I called and contacted an old high school/ college buddy, Alan K. There's a gathering on Friday, after Christmas at Kevins house for old Western alums. We decided that we should try to get Alan there and an internet search for his phone number lead to his brothers house and his brothers wife gave me his cell phone number and we actually talked on the phone for twenty minutes, at work today. Alan is going to try to make the party on Friday. I hope he does. It will be good to connect with him again after an 11 year absence.

Today has been a day for re-connecting with the ghosts from the past.
For forgiving myself for who I am today, as compared to who they thought I was, then.
This sounds totally gayballz, but I'll say it anyways. The whole time, today, that I've been diving deep into my past, on teh Facebook, I've been thinking about Benjamin Button and how steadily and maturely, he navigated the forces of his life. The things you can't take back.
The things you wished you'd done.
The people you've crossed lives with.
The places you've been.
The person you used to be.

I've been confronting all of those things with a steadiness and a reassurance of self that I normally don't have. I accept who I am now. I accept who I was before. I forgive myself for the dumb things I did in the past. I forgive the people who did cruel things to me.

From this perspective, everybody you meet or have met is your "friend".

Something to mull over as I pass the minutes and hours in Chicago's Midway airport.

Go Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Now.

Cheers,
Mr.B

Oh, I'm Coming Home For Christmas.

It's been a busy week for re-building bridges for me. Old grievances that had aged to the point that they weren't present for re-consideration were re-examined, smoothed over and in some cases, repaired.

On Monday night, as I was walking into my theater to see opening night of our new show, I got a call from Hendo's cell. Thinking that something had gone "Boom" at the theater, I called him back immediately. When I told him that I was about walk into the theater, he explained that it wasn't time-critical and that I could give him a call back that night. And that was the plan.

The plan that I forgot.

After the show, I attended the reception briefly. My guest and I scooted out of there and cabbed up to our neighborhood. I walked her to her apartment. And on the cold walk home from her place, I got distracted by other issues and I completely forgot that I was supposed to call Hendo.

Tuesday evening, out in Beverly, after a two hour commute, Hendo called me back. We chatted about theater stuff for a bit. My theater. Our theater. People. Current Events. He even clued me in on some recent news that I'd previously missed.

At one point, he said, "Hey, not to get distracted by chit-chat, but I actually have a pitch that I want to make to you.." and with very little flourish, Hendo asked me if I would consider coming back to the BBR.

I want to be very clear here. It wasn't a suck-up session. Hendo didn't blow smoke up my ass or re-hash water well under the bridge. He just laid out his case, very matter of factly. My old job had opened up again. And the company was considering what to do with it and he'd made the case to ask me back. His point was that I could bring back the strengths that I brought to the show. And that the problems that he and I had, are pretty much resolved. And that the dynamic within the company had changed, also, to the point where the conditions were ripe for us to have a successful partnership again. He asked me to consider it.

And I did.
I am.

From my perspective, enough time has passed, that I'm over the issues that I had with Hendo. Issues that lead me to have to leave the company. And I didn't have any issues with the girls or the rest of the company. In short, there aren't a whole lot of obstacles for me to come back to the show.

I asked for a little time to think about it and suggested that i would want to contact Megan to get her thoughts on it. Hendo thought that was a good idea. He ended the call by thanking me for hearing him out and sincerely hoping that I would consider it. I thought that was very professional with him.

My phone call with Megan was also very professional. Honestly, it was easy and smooth and Megan has a good head on her shoulders. She and I agreed that we thought that was a lot of potential for good. And that the problems I had before have potential to not be problems anymore. She suggested that we take it on a trial basis, with the intention of aiming for a permanent return. Hendo identified a show on Dec. 20th, that needs coverage. Megan and I agreed that I would do that gig. No strings attached. (In a later phone call, Hendo identified a show on Dec. 15th at another joint, where I could see the show again, see the girls again, without performance pressure. A very good idea. I'm going.)

And that's where we left things. I have a show, back with the company, on Dec. 20th. Both Hendo and Megan treated me with respect and kindness and I really appreciate it. One of them said that "conditions were good for positive step forward for my relationship with the show" and I agree with them. For my part, I left the show between performances. One minute I was there. The next show, I wasn't. And it felt sad and undignified, considering my genuine high esteem for the girls and the show. So, one way to look at it, is that I get the very generous offer to tread the boards and "whoop" and holler for the girls, one more time. And honestly, that's the nicest thing that could've happened to me. Something so nice, that I couldn't even imagine it for myself, without a little help from my friends.

Never underestimate another human beings capacity for grace and kindness.

You never know someone so well, that you can fully appreciate their capacity to do good by you.

Cheers all,
Mr.B

What's Next? Re: The Montreal Gig.

Sorry for the lack of communication. I was in the Bluegrass State from Thurs. evening to Sunday, evening. One of the jobs that I did there, was unhook my stepdad's old, busted-ass computer and hook up his sweet new Dell computer. So, internet access was a little spotty. In addition to that, I was constantly on the run and/or holed up with meds, fighting a head cold. I spent almost all of Saturday, curled up under blankets, watching "Ratatouille" with my mom. (A pretty nice Saturday, as they go.) So, communication and progress on this Montreal gig was slow.

On Friday evening, I got a text message from Matt, telling me that the video was up for viewing. I went to the link that he sent me and watched it. It was 90% there, needing a few cosmetic fixes. I sent him an email with my notes and he whipped out the 2.0 version of the video, less than 30 minutes later. My family was at my mom's house on Friday night and they made me keep showing them, over and over again, until everyone had seen it once or twice. (everyone except my mom, who was busy hosting the get-together. I promised to send her a link to it, before it got taken down by Matt.)

I also toured around the Cir que casting website and learned new info about the gig. (Free housing up until two weeks after a show opens! Comparable pay rates! Free English classes for me and my family, if I get the gig!) I got a little worried when I couldn't find anything about the show listed on their website. But an email to the casting agent revealed that the gig is SO NEW that there's no material about it, out there. They don't even have a name for it, yet. He forwarded me a uber-secret email address to upload my material to, for this gig. Cool. huh?

Today, I got an email from the casting agent, sent out to the three or four of us that were up for the Master of Ceremonies position with the show. Apparently, there's a big meeting on Tuesday, between the producer and the director and they're desperate to look at someone, anyone, for this position. The deadline for submitted materials is still technically the end of the month. But they're asking to see anything that we've got, for the meeting tomorrow.

So, tonight, I'm going home and finishing the resume polish (I need to expand it to show all training and performance history - info that I usually condence for resumes) and then I can upload the headshots, the video and the resume. I will also write a nice letter of introduction and send that too. They should have everything ready for viewing when they walk into the office tomorrow.

I had a moment of reflection on Sunday, as I was in the airport, waiting for my flight home. I am really, really lucky to have the support of so many people, to give me, even a fighting chance, at this gig. Matt and Greg have been immediate supporters, with their quick response to specific materials that I needed. But other people have helped prop me forward to get to this point. John directed me in "V&V" and forwarded along the first email to let me know about the gig. Hendo and Megan cast me in the "BBR" and worked with me for three years. Believe it or not, the three years that I was with that company are very attractive to people who see it on my resume. That was my education about all things Burlesque and Variety Show - oriented. Nothing better than on-the-job experience. My team, International Stinger, supports me and are encouraging me to go for this. My parents back me, 100%. Friends and family have said, unanimously, "You've got to go for it." I owe my chance at this, to those people, and others.

EDITED TO ADD: Matt just posted the video on the Youtubes. THIS is what we're sending to Cir que later tonight. (Please keep in mind, they've requested videos that show movement onstage and interraction with audience, in the style of the character. They've also requested 45 seconds of me, out of character, addressing the viewers, directly. So, when that moment comes up, try not to squirm in discomfort, too much. It's what they wanted. Otherwise, this is precisely what I wanted the video to look like. Let's see if it snags an audition for me.)



Until then,
Mr.B

The Improvisers Breadline.

Tonight, while riding the bus north to catch a train to Evanston for vaudeville rehearsal, I had a thought, "This city isn't as good as it was when Ryan Gilmour was here."

I know how gay and pathetic it sounds to be a grown man, age 33, pining away for another grown man, but there you go. I liked having him here. I called him and we would hang out. Or he would call me and we would walk over to The Daily Grill for dinner. If I was tight on cash, he would cover me and I would try to get him back, when I was flush again. Sometimes we would just walk around the neighborhood and catch up on the gossip or pick movies apart. Good times.

Now, if I want to get a burger with him, I have to fly across the goddamed country.

So there's that.

But more than Ryan's absence, I'm feeling the absence of other displaced friends too.

Bob Ladewig is in Portland.
Corey Harrison is in Louisville, Ky.
Ron Temple is in Some Small-Ass Backwoods Town, Ky.
Reuben West is in Indianapolis, IN.
Mackenzie Baker is in Phoenix, AZ.

People that I used to see and enjoy, regularly, in this city are all gone, gone, gone. It's like there's this long line of improvisers, head bowed, standing in line to leave this city behind, to go somewhere else, to do something else. And that's sad.

As I write this, I am wondering how the old actors that I see around the theater deal with this? The weight of memories past and the insubstantiality of the current times. Do they wander around this city, looking at the changed storefronts and remember places where they used to get beers and shoot pool with their long-gone friends?

I remember this stuff from college. You come together, for a few brief years are a small family with all the good memories and the little dramas that cement you together. And then, one by one, people graduate or leave and go their separate ways. Disperse to the winds.

Part of me always thought that when I got to Chicago, that wouldn't be happening as often. This was a destination for me. The place I wanted to be. And it's such an extraordinarily good place, that I naturally thought that people would want to flock here too. And I guess that they did. For a time. For a while, it was good, and I had a strong family of friends again.

One by one, they all left. Dispersed by new winds. Grad School. Babies. Theaters To Be Opened. Families To Be Started. Things To Do.

I am happy to say that life is still good here. We enjoy the gravity and the spotlight of a major American city, but we still have open expanses of sky and horizontal sprawl and friendly people. Groceries are close by. The public transportation system (mostly) works. People you once knew and loved are getting married and having improv super-babies. Good Stuff, see?

As good as all of this stuff is, it was all better, when you were here.

I might need to avoid "going away parties" for a while.

Lately, I've been missing old friends.

Pizza Pie Parties!

You may remember when I posted about this blog ticking over and having it's 20,000th visitor in a recent post. In an uncharacteristic fit of gratitude, I offered to have a Celebrity Pizza Pie Party for the 20,000th viewer to the blog. I posted some details about the viewer and when he (or she) viewed the blog and encouraged the responsible party to step forward and claim their reward.

How could I foresee that there might be two possible candidates? Don Hall was our first claimant. And shortly thereafter, Kyle Bice stepped forward to claim the celebratory pizza pie. (Check out the comments on that blog entry to see the firebrand posts that set this controversy ablaze!) Rather than investigate the claim and begin a carbohydrate-fueled feud between these two noble clans, I thought that peace and cooperation should win out and we should host TWO pizza pie parties. Problem solved!

Plans were made. Schedules consulted. Pizzas were ordered and here are the pics from the events!

CELEBRITY PIZZA PIE PARTY #1
At the home of Don Hall and Jen Ellison.

I arrived at the Ellison home on a Sunday evening, bearing a Pizza Pie.


I rang the doorbell and Don answered the door. Boy was he surprised by what he saw...


ME! I was the Celebrity of the Celebrity Pizza Pie Party. And I brought the pizza!


Boy! That Pizza sure looked delicious, didn't it?


We settled down in the living room and enjoyed the pizza and watched "Walk Hard" together and a good time was had by all.


Later, after we all relaxed a bit, Don showed me where (and how) he likes to view my blog. Awesome!


Two Weeks Later...

CELEBRITY PIZZA PIE PARTY #2
At the home of Kyle and Natanya.

I arrived at the home of Kyle and Natanya's house, Pizza at the ready...


And Kyle opened the door, surprised to see a "Genuine" Celebrity, holding a pizza, FOR HIM!!!


He and Natanya, sure were excited to have a Pizza Party right in their own house! Yum Yum! That looks tasty!


A good time was had by all!


After we ate and enjoyed a nice visit, Kyle showed me where HE likes to go visit my blog.


Congratulations to the Hall-Ellison and Kyle & Natanya homes for visiting my blog frequently and being the 20,000th viewer of my blog (probably)!!!